Africa Regional Office, Communications Manager

Organization Profile:

Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.

We are non-governmental, non-religious and work with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement our programs. We currently work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia – countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. Since our inception, Room to Read’s worldwide team has impacted over 7 million children by constructing more than 1,600 schools, establishing over 15,000 libraries, publishing 800 new children’s book titles in 11 local languages, and rewarding over 20,000 girls with long-term, holistic scholarships.

Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$43.7 million and our global staff numbers over 500. Our global headquarters is located in San Francisco, and we have smaller fundraising offices in Delhi, New York, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Sydney, and Tokyo. We have an Asia Regional Office located in New Delhi and program offices in Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane. 

Position Overview:

The Communications Manager is part of the Africa Regional Office team, reporting to the Manager, Corporate and Foundations, Europe & Africa, based in London. This position is based in Johannesburg, South Africa or Lusaka, Zambia with frequent communication with the Director of Communication, the global communications team and the Shared Services team who coordinates all donor site visits.

This is a new position with significant responsibilities for providing communications, strategy and support for a large partnership with UNICEF, Zambia, which will be the primary focus in year one. In addition, the Manager will be responsible for collecting and generating quality documentation from the Africa country offices (which currently include South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia) to help Room to Read increase the overall visibility of the organization and the programs it runs in Africa, thereby increasing contributions to and awareness of the organization. The Communications Manager will also help maintain the global Room to Read brand name and image within the region by helping to create and streamline the production of country and regional-specific marketing materials and messaging documents. This includes, but is not limited to, writing impact-driven and human interest stories, researching and discovering stories specifically requested by the media, collection of high quality still images and video, and the hiring of any contracted vendors needed to fulfill these obligations (i.e. photographers, videographers, designers and printers).  In addition, this position may help plan and implement strategies to secure media visits to project sites as well as help with PR events and opportunities. Finally, this position supports our Manager, Corporate and Foundations, Europe & Africa to develop, devise & implement an Africa Fundraising Communications Plan and, although each Country office handles the main coordination for donor site visits, this position will be responsible for building team capacity to plan and deliver high quality, high impact visits and may be directly involved in some high-profile visits.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic and targeted support to maximize our partnership with UNICEF and bring visibility to Room to Read’s work as a result of the partnership. Promote results to UNICEF, government partners, and other influential parties such that Room to Read is recognized as a thought leader in early childhood literacy.
• Develop, implement, and evaluate an annual PR/communications plan for the Africa region in collaboration with the Communications team, Country Directors and Manager Corporate and Foundations, Europe & Africa.
• Support the Manager Corporate and Foundations, Europe & Africa with any development/fundraising needs, including, but not limited to, delivering communications which raise our profile, maximize the involvement of our donors and supporters and attract new supporters to Room to Read; as well as assist in the production of fundraising materials needed for donor care and ensure that good quality and up to date materials are in place.
• Enhance strategic partnerships with government, donors, the media, other partners in southern Africa
• Build and maintain media relationships within the country/region
• Research, collect, write, edit, and share (in the English language) the most impactful and personal stories coming out of Room to Read’s African country offices (currently South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia).
• Proactively submit time-sensitive stories and profiles to the Global Office (GO) for the media, the Room to Read website, blogs, tweets, and/or newsletters.
• Specifically collect stories and photos needed for GO marketing materials
• Support in media requests to locate specific stories that would appeal to media outlets.
• Create localized branded marketing materials, as needed to raise awareness of Room to Read in the region.
• Manage hired vendor relationships or secure pro-bono relationships with professional photographers, videographers, designers, printers and communications agencies to help Room to Read acquire high quality documentation of its programs.
• Help ensure consistent communication of the organization's image and position within the African region, both among Room to Read staff and externally to all constituencies.
• Manage selected visits by members of the media, photographers, or videographers so that the best possible story on Room to Read is maintained.
• Facilitate training sessions in each country office on representing the organization and effectively communicating Room to Read’s mission and programs to external parties. 

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree, communications, marketing, English or journalism degrees preferred

• 5-7 years’ experience in writing, editing, journalism, marketing and/or communications
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English as well as exceptional editing skills
• Ability for frequent travel to Room to Read field sites in South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia for collection of stories and research
• Adaptability of writing and editing skills for print publications and the web
• Ability to be flexible, proactive, organized, meet deadlines, and ensure accuracy – all within a fast-pace environment
• Basic graphic design skills, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign is desirable
• Prior success working closely and building relationships with diverse groups of people
• Experience living or working in Africa is preferred
• Understanding of writing and presenting for a donor audience and a knowledge of the U.S. and U.K. nonprofit community is preferred
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously and take initiative
• Highly organized with excellent attention to detail

To be successful as a member of the Room to Read team, you will also:

• Have a passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic non-profit organisation
• Be an innovative and creative thinker; you’re not afraid to try something new and inspire others to do so
• Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
• Have a strong work ethic and require minimal direction
• Work well independently as well as part of a team
• Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment

Compensation:

The salary range for this position will be determined based upon the experience of the candidate hired. Benefits including health and a retirement plan are also provided. Additional benefits include a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, and rapidly growing organization that is changing the world through the lifelong gift of education.

Application Procedure:

Please send a cover letter and CV by email, with "Communications Manager - Africa Regional Office” in the subject line, (no letters, calls, faxes, or drop-ins) to hiring@roomtoread.org. While every application will be carefully reviewed, we are not able to send personalized responses to all applicants due to high applicant volume. Applications are accepted until the position is filled.

Room to Read is an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and developing
the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.